Join us in congratulating the 10 NYU startup teams comprising the 5th cohort of NYU Summer Launchpad accelerator! The selected teams will take part in the 10-week program that provides $10,000 in grant funding (non-dilutive, zero equity), startup skills boot camps, 1:1 coaching from NYC entrepreneurs and early stage investors, a collaborative workspace for the summer, pro-bono legal incorporation counsel, web hosting credits and other exclusive perks.
We received nearly 100 applications representing 13 NYU schools and colleges, with ventures in SaaS, hardware, social innovation, healthcare/life sciences, and e-commerce verticals, among others. Ten teams were selected from this pool because of the potential of their business, and even more importantly, because of the demonstrated potential of the founding team.
Get to know the ventures and learn what the teams are hoping to accomplish over the summer!
Emerge
The team is building the first affordable and portable group learning platform for the next billion learners: a solar-power capable computing device that integrates a durable LCD projector with fully-functional inbuilt PC. Co-founders: Karan Magu (Stern ’17) and Avantika Kajaria (Stern ’17).
“Emerge is creating a sustainable delivery system for high-quality digital content to reach, connect and bring online the next billion learners in the offline world. Summer Launchpad will allow us to learn and build a collaborative community dedicated to quality education access and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”
Hi-Hi
Hi-Hi is an online platform that connects drivers with passengers who are traveling between the same cities. Drivers can post their route and price per seat and passengers can search the existing posted trips to select the one that is right for them. Co-founders: Maxwell Raderstorf (Stern ’17), Ekaterina Chichikashvili (CAS ’17) and Jackson Blume (CAS ’17).
“The Hi-Hi team is excited to become a valuable part of a high-energy environment filled with enthusiastic creators, where shared innovative spirit and collaboration will help us all to develop useful, focused ideas into hip products that disrupt and inspire.”
INVIP
INVIP is a stand-alone device that provides fast and accurate image recognition for people who suffer from vision loss, at a fraction of the cost of solutions currently in the market. Co-founders: Nicolas Metallo (Tandon ’17), Isabel Izquierdo (Columbia University ’17), Nuvina Padukkavidana (Tandon ’17), Brenda Truong (Tandon ’17) and Edson Tapia (Univ. of Barcelona ’15).
“INVIP is excited to co-create with the blind community the new norm for visual aid technology through the Summer Launchpad program.”
Levitas
The team is creating a patient activity monitor to modernize healthcare and patient safety. Co-founders: Amar Seoparson (Tandon ’17) and Anthony Oganov (CAS ’17).
"We are eager to develop our system to prevent falls in hospitals through the NYU Summer Launchpad, and hope to use all the mentorship and feedback we receive to refine our solution."
Myx Reality
Myx is a storyboarding tool for virtual reality, providing a web-based solution that is simple, fast and shareable. Myx simplifies and shortens the process going from an idea into virtual reality. Co-founders: Joakim Quach (Tisch ’17) and Ondina Frate (Tisch ’17).
"Through the Summer Launchpad program, we want to build a strong network within the NYU entrepreneurial community as well as the VR community. We are excited to receive valuable mentorship, which will help us build a great foundation for Myx Reality."
ShopDrop
ShopDrop is an app that enables the discovery of sample sales in fashion capitals of the world. Co-founders: Estee Goldschmidt (Stern ’17), Cory Bishop (Bucknell ’12) and William DeMuro (Univ. of Michigan ’85).
“The ShopDrop team is thrilled to participate in the 2017 SLP cohort! The accelerator will enable us to radically transform the retail market - we will hit the 100K download mark and will make sure that anyone in NY who is interested in fashion knows about and uses ShopDrop on a daily basis. Ready, set and go!”
State Space Labs
The team is developing a neurocognitive analytics and training platform for competitive gamers. Co-founders: Jay Fuller, PhD, postdoctoral fellow Center for Neural Science at NYU and Wayne Mackey, PhD (GSAS ’16), postdoctoral fellow Center for Neural Science at NYU.
"We're looking forward to working side-by-side with other startups who are tackling the same issues we are. No one person or team has all the answers and so we really feel that being in the collaborative environment that Summer Launchpad provides will accelerate our growth beyond what we could achieve on our own."
Stereotheque
A platform for millennials to discover music and media by using artificial intelligence, time and location. Co-founders: Julian Duque (Steinhardt ’17), Guillermo Arenas (SPS ’15), Tomas Uribe (The New School ’15) and Kristian Diaz (Florida International University ’11).
"Summer Launchpad will be a defining step for Stereotheque to focus and understand our customer´s real needs and we are thrilled to be one of the 2017 selected teams. We are ALL IN."
TABu
TABu is a mobile payment app that allows users to open, track, split, and pay their bar tab from their phone. TABu integrates directly with a venue's POS system to provide the most seamless payment solution on the market. Co-founders: Kyra Durko (Stern ’19) and Miguel Guerrero (Tandon ’19).
“The team is thrilled to work on bringing TABu from pilot to scale with the incredible mentors and opportunities Summer Launchpad has to offer!”
My Wellbeing
At the heart of therapy is a relationship. My Wellbeing matches patients with therapists and schedules initial consultations to help patients begin therapy and help therapists grow their caseloads. Co-founders: Alyssa Petersel (Silver School of Social Work '17) and Lauren Knapp (Silver School of Social Work '17).
"We are grateful for the opportunity to bring to life My Wellbeing, an innovative approach to connecting individuals to the proven healing of a therapeutic relationship."
Over the next ten weeks, the teaching team, Frank Rimalovski and Rebecca Silver, along with the rest of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute staff and 40+ Blackstone LaunchPad coaches will work with these teams to guide them as they launch their ventures. Stay tuned for updates on the 4th annual NYU-Yale Summer Accelerator Pitchoff, as well as the NYU Summer Launchpad Venture Showcase (aka Demo Day) events.
